Places I've hung out in, sometimes briefly.

Archive for the month “February, 2012”

Burkes Garden, in Tazewell County, Virginia, that is. When I first saw it on a raised plastic topo map, I though it looked as if someone had taken their thumb and squashed it into the mountain. Go to Google Earth and enter: 37.098190, -81.340871 and you’ll center in right at the post office (the picture of it is below)…the sign says Burkes Garden God’s Land. Here’s a link to the Wiki entry…interesting story. But it’s a beautiful place to take your bike and just enjoy the birds, the scenery and the relative quiet. If you come in from the Wythe county side, the road’s a little rough. It’s easier to come in from Tazewell. If you come that way, you’ll quickly see the dam and small lake, then move a little on and look at the view
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I don’t travel far and I don’t travel wide(ly), but my buddy and I have traversed a lot of landscape in Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and, to a lesser degree, Western North Carolina. I take a lot of pictures, since my main interests are railroad tunnels and bridges. I’ve also documented many of the places I’ve been. This blog is here to share those.
First up: Grassy Trail Bald (or Grassy Ridge Bald) on the Roan Massif. You park at Carver Gap, then walk up to Round Bald, then past Engine Gap (once, long ago, there was a machine here that hoisted timber that was efficiently clear cut on Tennessee side of the mountain over to the North Carolina side for processing) and up to Jane Bald. You’ll see the Appalachian Trail here, but veer off and head up to Grassy Trail Bald. 6100′ up and on a reasonably clear day, the view is terrific. I love that place.